Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel

[Marlin]

Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years' worth of nuclear fuel

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/16/clean-tech-startup-fluxnium-found-a-way-to-tap-50000-years-worth-of-nuclear-fuel/

[Core Content]

Startup venture Fluxnium secured seven million dollars in seed funding to commercialize a method for extracting uranium from seawater. The process uses specially designed polymer fibers suspended from ocean buoys to capture dissolved uranium without generating toxic mining tailings.

Domestic nuclear operators face rising yellowcake prices and heavy reliance on foreign supply chains. Accessing the vast reserves of uranium in the oceans could diversify fuel sources and help utilities meet projected generation growth without traditional mining constraints.

Fluxnium's fibers can extract uranium directly from seawater, which has enough of the nuclear fuel to power thousands of generations.

The U.S. has ambitious plans to triple the capacity of its nuclear power plants by 2050, but that goal might hit a roadblock if plant operators can't buy fuel at reasonable prices.

Prices for yellowcake, a form of unrefined uranium, are up 75% in the last five years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Further complicating matters, the U.S. doesn't have significant resources within its borders — unless you consider the ocean.

Read the full article at TechCrunch:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/16/clean-tech-startup-fluxnium-found-a-way-to-tap-50000-years-worth-of-nuclear-fuel/